Glassware cooling and transfer apparatus

ABSTRACT

Articles of glassware manufactured by an automatic apparatus are taken out from finishing molds of the apparatus and held temporarily by take-out assemblies until they are cooled to such temperature that they no longer undergo deformation. The articles, then placed onto turntables in rotation and further cooled thereon, are transferred, in equidistant arrangement, onto a belt conveyor which is driven at a velocity higher than the rotational speed of the turntable by means of delivery arms adapted to be rotated at a progressively increasing velocity.

United States Patent @kumura et al.

[ 1 Mar. 21, 1972 GLASSWARE COOLING AND TRANSFER APPARATUS lnventors: Akihiro Okumura; Isao lzumi, both of Hyogo, Japan Assigneez Yamamura Glass Kabushiki Kaisha,

Hyogo, Japan Apr. 9, 1970 Filed:

Appl. No.:

Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 13, 1969 Japan ..44/64346 Aug. 13, 1969 Japan ..44/64347 US. Cl ..65/260, 65/241, 74/393, 74/394, 214/1 BC Int. Cl. ..C03b 35/00 Field of Search ..65/24l 227, 260, 348; 74/393, 74/394; 214/1 BC [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,449,104 6/1969 Hamilton ..65/227 X 2,783,589 3/1957 Wiley ..65/260 X 2,838,947 6/1958 Sarka ..74/394 Primary Examiner-Arthur D. Kellogg Attorneyl-lolman, Glascock, Downing & Seebold [5 7] ABSTRACT Articles of glassware manufactured by an automatic apparatus are taken out from finishing molds of the apparatus and held temporarily by take-out assemblies until they are cooled to such temperature that they no longer undergo deformation. The articles, then placed onto turntables in rotation and further cooled thereon, are transferred, in equidistant arrangement, onto a belt conveyor which is driven at a velocity higher than the rotational speed of the turntable by means of delivery arms adapted to be rotated at a progressively increasing velocity.

3 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures Patented Marh 21, 1-972 7 Sheets-Sheet l Patented March 21, 1972 '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented March 21, 1972 3,650,72

7 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG.3

4717 r" GD 18 47 Patented March 21, 1972 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented March 21, 1972 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 I l l I Patented March 21, 1 972 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 FIG.7

FIG.8

Patented March 21, 1972 3,650,725

7 Sheets-Sheet 7 FIGJO ADI ROTATION 0F MAIN SHAFT GLASSWARE COOLING AND TRANSFER APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a glassware cooling and transfer apparatus for cooling articles of glassware manufactured by an automatic apparatus and transferring the articles onto a belt conveyor in orderly arrangement which is driven at a high velocity for delivering the products for a subsequent operation.

In transferring articles of glassware manufactured by an automatic apparatus to another apparatus for further operation by means of a belt conveyor, it is impossible to deliver the articles directly onto the belt conveyor since the products taken out of the finishing molds of the manufacturing apparatus are still hot and very susceptible to deformation. In accordance with a conventional practice, therefore, the articles taken out of the finishing molds are temporarily placed on a table disposed bedside a belt conveyor and the articles when cooled are transferred onto the belt conveyor by means of a reciprocating pusher or a rotary pusher adapted to be rotated 90. However, with use of the pusher which is adapted for reciprocation at a right angle with the direction of travel of the belt conveyor, the articles, the moment they are transferred onto the conveyor, are liable to be turned over due to sudden acceleration, so that it is not possible to increase the speed of the conveyor, nor is it easy to position the articles on the conveyor, in equidistant arrangement. On the other hand, the pusher which is adapted to be rotated 90 has an objection that the articles can not be cooled sufficiently before they are delivered onto the belt conveyor. To sum up, the disadvantages of the conventional apparatus are: there is a limit on the speed to transfer the articles; it is difficult to arrange the articles equidistantly; the pusher is not reliable in delivering the articles; and the limitation on time cycle of the manufacturing apparatus results in insufficient cooling of the products. Hence high speed and efficient operation of the glassware manufacturing apparatus has heretofore been infeasible.

Eliminating these disadvantages of conventional apparatuses, the present invention has remarkably improved efficiency of automatic glassware manufacturing apparatuses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A primary object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus by which hot articles taken out of finishing molds of an automatic glassware manufacturing apparatus are cooled above delivery means to such extent that they no longer get deformed, the cooled articles being thereafter transferred, free of troubles such as tumbling, onto a belt conveyor which is being driven at a high velocity, the present apparatus thus being capable of achieving substantial reduction in time cycle of the glassware manufacturing apparatus and remarkable improvement in its production efficiency.

Another object of the present invention is to provide transfer means and drive means therefor for transferring articles of glassware from a turntable onto a belt conveyor driven at a higher velocity than the turntable, the transfer means being so adapted as to be driven approximately at the same velocity as the circumferential velocity of the turntable when brought into engagement with the articles on the turntable,

the velocity of the transfer means further being such that it is increased progressively after the engagement until the velocity reaches the same level as the advancing velocity of the belt conveyor when the articles are completely transferred onto the belt conveyor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means for supplying air suitable for cooling the articles to be positioned above the turntable and then placed thereon.

in order to fulfill the foregoing objects, the present apparatus includes glassware cooling and transfer units each provided for each of the finishing molds of a glassware manufacturing apparatus, the cooling and transfer unit comprising take-out means for taking out articles of glassware from the finishing mold, bringing the articles to a position above a turntable, temporarily holding the articles in the position until they are cooled to such temperature that they no longer get deformed and placing the articles on the turntable after they are cooled to the temperature, a turntable adapted to be driven at a low velocity at a position close to a belt conveyor to be driven at a high velocity and provided with a plurality of apertures for ejecting compressed air for cooling the articles, a rotary pusher provided with a transfer arm extending from its outer periphery for pushing forward the articles from the position above the turntable toward the belt conveyor as it is rotated, the rotary pusher being so adapted that when it is rotated the circumferential velocity of the transfer arm is progressively varied from a velocity approximately equal to the velocity of the articles on the turntable to a velocity approximately equal to the advancing velocity of the belt conveyor, a guide plate for guiding the articles pushed forward by the rotary pusher to the belt conveyor, and air control means for controlling the timing and amount of cooling air discharged through the air ejecting appertures in the turntable, the cooling and transfer units further being adapted to function in operative relationship with the automatic manufacturing apparatus so as to transfer articles onto the belt conveyor in equidistant arrangement.

Since articles of glassware molded by the finishing mold and cooled to a suitable temperature are placed on the turntable which further carries them forward, the articles subsequently molded can be taken out from the finishing mold within a short time and delivered onto the turntable. The turntable need not be driven at a very high circumferential velocity but the velocity thereof may be such that the articles, the moment they are released from the take-out means onto the turntable, will not be tumbled due to the inertia,

The articles brought to a position above the turntable are cooled rapidly to a temperature low enough for placement on the table when subjected to air of the room temperature discharged through the air ejecting apertures in the turntable. When placed on the turntable they are further cooled sufficiently so as to ensure trouble-free delivery onto the belt conveyor. This cooling is effected also with the compressed air of room temperature discharged from the air apertures in the turntable. In order to prevent the articles from being tumbled by ejection of compressed air when they are about to be placed and after being placed on the turntable, the timing and amount of the air supply are controlled by air control means such as a damper which is actuated in operative relationship with the drive means for the turntable.

The rotary pusher adapted to be driven at varying angular velocities and provided with a transfer arm for delivering articles from the turntable rotated at a low velocity to the belt conveyor driven at a high velocity is driven by a structure comprising a drive gear fixed to an eccentric shaft secured to a main shaft driven at a constant speed in operative relation with the turntable drive means, a driven gear fixed to an output shaft provided with the transfer arm, an intermediate gear for transmitting the torque from the drive gear to the driven gear, a link mounted on the eccentric shaft at its base end and rotatably supporting the intermediate gear at the other end and another link mounted on the output shaft at its base end and rotatably supporting the intermediate gear at the other end. The revolution of the base end of the link on the eccentric shaft around the main shaft provides the intermediate gear with a circular arc reciprocating movement about the axis of the output shaft, which consequently varies the angular velocity of the output shaft continuously and accordingly, the angular velocity of the transfer arm. As a result, the angular velocity of the transfer arm which is approximately the same as that of the turntable when the arm is brought into engagement with the article thereon is progressively increased as the arm pushes the article toward the belt conveyor along the guide plate disposed above the turntable. When the arm comes to a position above the belt conveyor, the angular velocity of the transfer arm reaches the highest level and at this time, the velocity of the article being pushed forward is about the same as the velocity of the belt conveyor.

Thus, due to the provision of the structure above, it becomes possible to employ a belt conveyor which is driven at much greater velocity than the circumferential velocity of the turntable, hence remarkable improvement in the efficiency of the automatic glassware manufacturing apparatus.

For equidistant arrangement of the articles to be placed onto the belt conveyor, several sets of the turntable and takeout means disposed along the belt conveyor are associated with each other in operative relationship.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention as it is used for an automatic bottle manufacturing apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1 to 3 are plan views schematically showing the structure of an embodiment of this invention, the views being in the order of the product transfer operation;

FIG. 4 is a view in section showing the principal part of the embodiment and taken along a line extending transversely ofa belt conveyor;

FIG. 5 is a rear view showing the principal part of the embodiment as seen from the automatic bottle manufacturing apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation showing the principal part of a mechanism for controlling supply ofcompressed air;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a mechanism for effecting rotation at varying angular velocity;

FIG. 8 is a view in vertical section showing the same;

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating the movement of the same; and

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the angular velocity ratio between a main shaft and an output shaft.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, designated at 1a, lb and 1c are finishing molds of an automatic bottle manufacturing apparatus, each of the molds being adapted to form two bottles at the same time. The finishing molds are spaced apart by an equal distance along a belt conveyor 2. In the illustrated embodiment, the automatic bottle manufacturing apparatus is provided with three molds, but the apparatus may be provided with four or six molds, while the structure of the automatic bottle manufacturing machine may not be limited to the illustrated type. The finishing mold may be such that it produces one bottle at a time instead of two-bottle molding type.

Designated at 3 is take-out means, each provided for each of the finishing molds 1a, 1b, 1c. The take-out means comprises a pneumatic or hydraulic reciprocating assembly composed of a cylinder 4 and piston 5 and a bottle take-out assembly 7 attached to the forward end of a piston rod 6. When the finishing mold la is opened by unillustrated release means molded bottles A are grasped and suspended by grips 8 and brought to a position above a turntable 9 as shown in FIG. 4, where the bottles are subjected, for cooling, to compressed air discharged from a plurality of air ejecting apertures 10 formed in the turntable 9. After the bottles A have been cooled to such temperature that they no longer undergo deformation, the grips 8 are opened to release the bottles A onto the turntable 9. The grips are then brought back upward to the position above the mold 1a.

The turntable 9 is disposed beside the belt conveyor 2 in proximity therewith. Provided beneath the turntable 9 is an air outlet 11 for discharging compressed air through the air ejecting apertures 10. It will be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 that the torque of a drive shaft 12 is delivered to the turntable 9 through a clutch 14 and chain transmission means comprising sprockets 13a, 13b and a chain 13c, the turntable 9 thus being adapted to be driven at a lower constant velocity in the clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 1 relative to the belt conveyor 2 which is driven at a high velocity in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1. It will also be noted from FIG. 1 that the same number of the turntables 9a, 9b, 9c are equidistantly spaced apart as the finishing molds 1a, 1b, 1c. A rotary pusher 15 is adapted for rotation at varying angular velocity and provided with a suitable number of transfer arms 17 at the end of a member 16 (the number of the arms corresponding to that of the bottles molded simultaneously on one finishing mold). As the rotary pusher 15 is driven, the transfer arm 17 positioned above the turntable 9 is turned toward the belt conveyor 2 to push the bottle A on the turntable toward the belt conveyor 2, the angular velocity of the pusher 15 being such that when the transfer arm 17 is brought into engagement with the bottle A from the position above the turntable 9 the arm is driven at approximately the same circumferential velocity as that of the turntable 9. The transfer arm 17 is further turned toward the belt conveyor 2 at progressively increasing circumferential velocity until the arm 17 comes to a position above the belt conveyor 2, when the velocity reaches a level approximately equal to the velocity of the belt conveyor. The number of the rotary pushers 15 is also the same as that of the turntable 9 as indicated at 15a, 15b and 15c in FIG. 1.

A guide plate 18 for guiding the bottle A pushed forward by the rotary pusher 15 extends radially from the center of the turntable 9 toward the belt conveyor 2 as illustrated and is fixed in position by a bracket 19 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The same number of the guide plates 18 as the turntables 9 are provided.

A damper 20 for controlling the compressed air flow into the air outlet 11 is disposed in an air duct 11a and adapted to open or close the duct by electromagnetic means 21 or the like which is controlled by a microswitch 24 or the like to be actuated by a cam 23 driven through chain transmission mechanism 22 comprising sprockets 22a, 22b and chain 220. The air control means thus constructed is provided for each of the turntable 9 so as to control the timing and amount of air supply.

Drive means 25 for the rotary pusher 15 is driven through chain transmission mechanism 26 comprising the drive shaft 12, sprockets 26a, 26b and chain 26c. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, fixedly mounted on the end of a main shaft 27 to be driven at a constant velocity is a bracket 28 to which is secured a holding member 30 implanted with an eccentric shaft 29. A drive gear 31 is fixed to the eccentric shaft 29 by a screw 32 so that when the main shaft 27 is rotated the drive gear gear 31 is moved round along the circumference having a radius r defined by the eccentric positioning of the shaft 29. On the other hand, a driven gear 34 is fixed to an output shaft 33, with an intermediate gear 35 in meshing engagement with the drive gear 31 and the driven gear 34 to deliver the rotation of the drive gear 31 to the driven gear 34. A first link 36 is pivotally mounted on the eccentric shaft 29 at its base end, while the base end ofa second link 37 is pivotally mounted on the output shaft 33. Implanted in the free end of the second link 37 is a connecting rod 38 supporting the intermediate gear 35. The upper end of the connecting rod 38 is supported on the distal end of the first link 36.

With the structure described, the main shaft 27, when driven at a constant velocity, effects revolution of the drive gear 31 along the circumference defined by the radius r, which further drives through the intermediate gear 35 the driven gear 34 to thereby drive the output shaft 33. Since the intermediate gear 35 in this arrangement is spaced apart from the drive gear 31 by a distance w defined by the first link 36 and from the driven gear 34 by a distance W2 provided by the second link 37 as seen in FIG. 9, the intermediate gear 35 is reciprocated between point x and point y along the circumference provided by the radius w while driving the driven gear 34. Supposing that the main shaft 27 is driven in the counterclockwise direction, the driven gear 34 is also driven counterclockwise, so that if the angular velocity of the intermediate gear 35 is constant the angular velocity of the driven gear 34 is lower than that of the intermediate gear 35 during the movement of the gear 35 from the point x to point y, while the former is higher than the latter when the gear 35 is moved from the point y to point x. The angular velocity of the driven gear 34 coincides with that of the intermediate gear 35 only when the gear 35 is positioned at the points x and y (provided that the tooth number of the driven gear is the same as the intermediate gear). While the gear 35 is not at these points, the angular velocity of the driven gear 34 varies continuously. It will be apparent from the foregoing description of the structure that the angular velocity ratio of the output shaft relative to the rotation of the main shaft can be varied continuously as shown in FIG. to provide the already described movement for the transfer arm of the rotary pusher 15. In the case where the position of the holding member 30 relative to the bracket 28 is made variable so as to make the radius r adjustable, the angular velocity ratio can be varied as desired.

In order to deliver the bottles on the belt conveyor in equidistantly spaced-apart arrangement by the transfer means from the finishing molds provided, for instance, for the automatic manufacturing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the finishing molds 1a, lb, 10 may be brought into operation in succession by a timer or the like in operative relationship with the transfer means.

In FIG. 1, upon the opening of the finishing mold la, the take-out means (not shown in FIGS. 1 to 3) is actuated to take out the bottles A molded by the finishing mold la. At this time, the finishing molds 1b, 1c are molding respective bottles in closed position.

On the other hand, the turntable 9a carrying bottles A already molded by the mold la during the previous operation is in rotation, while the rotary pusher a is in the position just after it has delivered onto the belt conveyor 2 the bottles A finished by the mold la during the operation further preceding the above-mentioned operation.

The turntable 9b is carrying the bottles A finished by the mold 1b, while the bottles A previously finished by the mold lb are being sent out by the transfer arms 17b of the rotary pusher 15b toward the belt conveyor 2 in engagement therewith.

The turntable 9c is in such position that the bottles A;, have just been transferred thereon with the bottles A; previously molded also placed thereon. The rotary pusher 15c is in idle rotation as shown before coming into engagement with the bottles A previously finished by the mold 10.

FIG. 2 shows the state in which one-third of the molding time cycle of the respective finishing molds has advanced from the state shown in FIG. 1. In this state the molds la and 1c are in molding operation, while the take-out means is initiated into operation to take out the bottles A released from the mold lb. The bottles A which were being pushed forward by the pusher 15b in FIG. 1 have just been delivered from the turntable 9b onto the belt conveyor 2. In like manner, the rotary pusher 15c is holding the bottles A, on the turntable 90, while on the turntable 9a the bottles A are shown as they have just been placed thereon after being taken out of the mold la and cooled to a temperature for the bottles to be handled free ofdeformation.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which another one-third of the time cycle has advanced from the state shown in FIG. 2. The mold 1c is now in open position and the molds la and lb are in molding operation. On the turntable 9a, the bottles A are being pushed toward the belt conveyor by the rotary pusher,

while the bottles A finished and cooled to a suitable temperature are shown as they have just been placed on the turntable 9b. The rotary pusher 15c shown has just transferred the bottles A from the turntable 9c onto the belt conveyor 2.

By operating the respective means in relation with molding time cycle of the finishing molds, the bottles molded by the finishing molds can be placed into equidistantly spaced-apart arrangement on the belt conveyor 2. Due to the fact that the turntable can be driven at a constant velocity all the time, it becomes possible to place several bottles on the turntable, with the result that molding time cycle of the finishing molds can be shortened.

We claim:

1. A glassware cooling and transfer apparatus comprising take-out means for taking out an article of glassware from a finishing mold of an automatic glassware manufacturing apparatus, bringing the article to a position above a turntable, temporarily holding the article in the position until it is cooled to such temperature that the article no longer gets deformed and placing the article on the turntable after being cooled to the temperature, a turntable adapted to be driven at a low velocity at a position close to a belt conveyor to be driven at a high velocity and provided with a plurality of apertures for ejecting compressed air for cooling the article, a rotary pusher provided with a transfer arm extending from its outer periphery for pushing the article from the position above said turntable toward the belt conveyor while being rotated, said rotary pusher being so adapted that when it is rotated the circumferential velocity of said transfer arm is progressively varied from a velocity approximately equal to the velocity of the article on said turntable to a velocity approximately equal to the advancing velocity of the belt conveyor, a guide plate for guiding the article pushed forward by said rotary pusher to the belt conveyor, and air control means for controlling the timing and amount of cooling air discharged through said air ejecting aperture in said turntable.

2. The glassware cooling and transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein cooling and transfer units each comprising said take-out means, said turntable, said rotary pusher, said guide plate and said air control means are provided respectively for finishing molds of an automatic glassware manufacturing apparatus, said cooling and transfer units further being adapted to function in operative relationship with the automatic manufacturing apparatus so as to transfer the articles onto the belt conveyor in equidistantly spaced-apart arrangement.

3. The glassware cooling and transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said air control means comprises a compressed air duct having an outlet attached to the under face of said turntable and a damper disposed within said duct, said damper being adapted to open or close said duct by electromagnetic means, said electromagnetic means being adapted to be operated through a microswitch to be actuated by a cam driven in operative relationship with a drive shaft for driving said turntable and said rotary pusher. 

1. A glassware cooling and transfer apparatus comprising takeout means for taking out an article of glassware from a finishing mold of an automatic glassware manufacturing apparatus, bringing the article to a position above a turntable, temporarily holding the article in the position until it is cooled to such temperature that the article no longer gets deformed and placing the article on the turntable after being cooled to the temperature, a turntable adapted to be driven at a low velocity at a position close to a belt conveyor to be driven at a high velocity and provided with a plurality of apertures for ejecting compressed air for cooling the article, a rotary pusher provided with a transfer arm extending from its outer periphery for pushing the article from the position above said turntable toward the belt conveyor while being rotated, said rotary pusher being so adapted that when it is rotated the circumferential velocity of said transfer arm is progressively varied from a velocity approximately equal to the velocity of the article on said turntable to a velocity approximately equal to the advancing velocity of the belt conveyor, a guide plate for guiding the article pushed forward by said rotary pusher to the belt conveyor, and air control means for controlling the timing and amount of cooling air discharged tHrough said air ejecting aperture in said turntable.
 2. The glassware cooling and transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein cooling and transfer units each comprising said take-out means, said turntable, said rotary pusher, said guide plate and said air control means are provided respectively for finishing molds of an automatic glassware manufacturing apparatus, said cooling and transfer units further being adapted to function in operative relationship with the automatic manufacturing apparatus so as to transfer the articles onto the belt conveyor in equidistantly spaced-apart arrangement.
 3. The glassware cooling and transfer apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said air control means comprises a compressed air duct having an outlet attached to the under face of said turntable and a damper disposed within said duct, said damper being adapted to open or close said duct by electromagnetic means, said electromagnetic means being adapted to be operated through a microswitch to be actuated by a cam driven in operative relationship with a drive shaft for driving said turntable and said rotary pusher. 